Plate holder



May 3, 1966 A. MACHAN 3,249,035

- PLATE HOLDER Filed Aug. 22, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG! F/GZ I70 v VI;

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IN VENTOR.

May 3, 1966 Filed Aug. 22, 1963 Flea A. MACHAN 3,249,035

PLATE HOLDER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 @ZM H nited States Patent Office 3,249,035 Patented May 3, 1966 3,249,035 PLATE HOLDER Antonin Maclnin, Prerov, Czechoslovakia, assignor to Meopta, narodni podnik, Prerov, Czechoslovakia Filed Aug. 22, 1963, Ser. No. 303,861 Claims priority, application Czechoslovakia, Aug. 29, 1962, 4,983/62 6 Claims. (Cl. 95-66) This invention relates to holders for photographic plates and similar plate-shaped sensitized material in which the material is protected against extraneous light before, during, and after exposure.

An object of the invention is the provision of a plate holder which is suitable for glass plates carrying a photographic emulsion and inherently practically inflexible.

Another object is the provision of a plate holder which permits loading and unloading of plates or similar material without damaging the emulsion.

A further object is the provision of a plate holder which can easily be loaded or unloaded in a' dark room.

With these and other objects in View, the invention, in one of its aspects provides a carrier for plates or the like which is mounted in a" flat-faced shell for movement through an open side of the shell in a plane substantially parallel to the flat shell face between an operative position in which the carrier is substantially contained within the shell, and an inoperative position outwardly spaced from the operative position in which a portion of the carrier projects from the shell. A frame is mounted on the projecting carrier portion for pivotal movement toward and away from an operative position adjacent the plane of carrier movement. A seal on the frame seals the open side of the shell against the passage of light when the carrier and frame are in their operative positions. When the carrier is in the inoperative position, it defines with the shell a path for movement of plates or the like into and outward of the shell, and the frame blocks that path when in its operative position.

The plate is positioned in a predetermined position relative to the shell by cooperating devices on the carrier and the shell when the carrier is in its operative position, and is moved from that position outward of the shell by engaging means on the carrier during movement of the latter from its operative to its inoperative position.

Other features and many of the advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood from the following description of a preferred embodiment when considered with the appended drawing in which:

FIG. 1 shows a closed plate holder of the invention in front elevation and partly in section on the line I--I in FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the plate holder of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 shows the bottom portion of the plate holder in a view corresponding to FIG. 2, but in the open position;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view of the. device of FIG. 3; and 1 FIG. 5 shows the plate holder of FIG. 1 in partly opened position in side elevation, and partly in section.

Referring now to the drawing in detail, the plate holder has an elongated shell mainly consisting of two flat-faced wall parts 1, 2, which are held together by screws '3 and define therebetween a cavity 4 which is open in one longitudinal direction. A carrier 5 for flat photographic material is mounted in the cavity 4 for longitudinal sliding movement inward and outward of the open end of the cavity in a plane parallel to the flat faces of the shell parts 1, 2. The carrier 5 is centered in the plate holder by two sets of pressure plates 6 mounted on the carrier i by means of spring 19 and respectively engaging two photographic plates 7 for holding the same in contact with internal surfaces 201 of the plate holder shell.

A pair of pivots 8 is provided on each of the side faces of a longitudinal end portion of the carrier 5. Corresponding pivots on the two side faces are connected by approximately U-shaped frames 9, 10 whose transverse members are partly received in recesses 20 of the shell parts 1, 2 and normally close the open end of the shell, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Knurled end faces 91, 101 of the transverse members of the frames 9, 10 are accessible in notches of the shell parts 1, 2 in the closed condition of the holder. A rib 11 on the transverse member of the frame 9 engages a conforming groove 12 in the frame 10 to prevent passage of light between the frames 9, 10 when the frames are swung toward each other into parallel alignment with the carrier 5 as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5.

The shell parts 1, 2 have respective apertures through which the plates 7 may be exposed, and which are normally closed by sliding covers 13, 14 in a conventional manner, the covers being provided with handles 15, 16.

An integral resilient tongue 17 on the carrier 5 is conformingly received in a groove 206 of the side wall of the plate holder jointly formed by the parts 1, 2 when the carrier is fully inserted in the shell, and has a detent face which prevents movement of the carrier outward of the shell by'engagement with a corresponding abutment face 202 of ,the shell unless the tongue 17 is driven from the recess 206 by a push button 18 in the side wall and accessible from the outside. Outward movement of the carrier 5 from the position shown in FIG. 1 is limited by another groove 205 similar to the groove 206 and having an obliquely sloping bottom wall 204 and a transverse abutment face 203 for engagement with the detent face 170 of the tongue 17.

Insertion of the plates 7 into the plate holder is faciliated by guide faces 207 on the shell parts 1, 2 near the open end of the shell, and longitudinal movement of the plates relative to the carrier 5 is limited by projections 51 on the corners of the carrier 5 remote from the frames 9, 10. The location of a projection 51 has been indicated in FIG. 1 although the projection itself is not visible in the plane II.

The afore-described plate holder is operated as follows:

Let it be assumed that the plate holder is initially empty of plates,7, but otherwise in the condition shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. While the push button 18 is being depressed to disengage the tongue 17 from the abutment face 202, the carrier 5 is gripped by the knurled end faces 91, 101 and pulled from the shell until further movement is prevented by engagement of the detent face 170 withthe abutment face 203. The pivots 8 are now outside the shell, and the frames 9, 10 may be swung out of the plane of the carrier 5, as seen in FIGS. 3 and 4.

One of the pressure plates 6 on either side of the carrier 5 also is outside the magazine shell, and a plate 7 may be inserted longitudinally between each guide face 207 and the corresponding face of the carrier 5 until the plate abuts against the associated projections 51. The frames 9, 10 are returned to their initial position in which the rib 11 engages the groove 12, and the carrier is pushed back into the shell.

During this inward movement of the carrier; the tongue 17 is deflected inward of the cavity 5 by the sloping bottom wall 204 of the groove 205, and ultimately drops into the groove 206 to secure the carrier in its operative position.

The plate holder is unloaded by substantially reversing .the steps of the afore-described loading operation, the

plates 7 .being moved out of the shell with the carrier by a the projections 51, and their end portions being exposed from all sides when the correspondingframes 9, 1.0 are pivoted away from the plane of the carrier 5.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosure relates only to a preferred embodiment of the invention, and that it is intended to cover all changes and modifications of the example of the invention herein chosen for the purpose of the disclosure which do not constitute departures from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

1. A holder for photographic plates and like plateshapcd material comprising, in combination:

(a) a shell having a flat face and an open side;

(b) a carrier mounted in said shell for movement through said open side in a plane substantially paral- 161 to said fiat face between an operative position in which said carrier is substantially contained within said shell and an inoperative position outwardly spaced from said operative position in which one portion of said carrier projects from said shell while another portion of said carrier is retained in said shell,

(1) said carrier and said shell defining a path for movement of said plate-shaped material into and outward of said shell when said carrier is in the inoperative position thereof;

( 0) retaining means for preventing outward movement of said carrier from said inoperative position thereof;

(d) hinge means on said one portion ofsaid carrier;

- (e) frame means secured to said carrier by said hinge means for pivotal movement toward and away from an operative position of said frame means adjacent said plane in which said frame means blocks said path;

(f) sealing means on said frame means for sealing said open side against the passage of light when said carrier and said frame means are in the respective 0perative positions;

(g) cooperating means on said carrier and said shell for positioning said material ina predetermined position relative to said shell when said carrier is in the operative position thereof; and

(h) engaging means on said carrier for moving said material from said predetermined position outward of said shell in said path during movement of the carrier from said operative to said inoperative position thereof.

2. A holder as set forth in claim 1, wherein said path is parallel to said plane.

3. A holder as set forth in claim 1, further comprising releasable means onsaid shell for arresting said carrier in said operative position.

4. A holder as set forth in claim 3, further comprising means on said shell for exposing plate shaped material taining means include detent means on said carrier, said shell being formed with two grooves spaced in the direction of carrier movement and respectively engaged by :said detent means in said operative and inoperative positions of said carrier for preventing outward movement of the carrier from said positions, and manually operable release means on said shell for releasing said detent means from one of said grooves when said carrier is in the operative position.

6. A holder for a pair of photographic plates and of like plate-shaped materials comprising, in combination:

(a) a shell having two flat walls and defining therein a cavity having an open sidebetween said walls;

(b) a carrier mounted in said cavity for movement through said open side in a plane spacedly-intermediate said Walls between an operative position in which said carrier is substantially contained within said shell and an inoperative position outwardly spaced from said operative position in which one portion of said carrier projects from said shell while another portion of said carrier is retained in said shell,

' (1) said carrier and said walls defining two paths for movement of said material into and outward of said cavity when said carrier is in the operative position thereof;

'(c) retaining means for preventing outward movement of said. carrier from said inoperative position thereof;

(d) hinge means on said one portion of said carrier;

(e) two frame members secured to said carrier by said hinge means for pivotal movement in opposite directions toward and away from respective operative positions adjacent said plane and the other frame member in which the frame members respectively block said paths;

(f) cooperating sealing means on said frame members engageable for sealing said open side against the pasmined respective positions relative to said shell when said carrier is in the operative position thereof; and

(h) engaging means on said carrier for moving said pair of materials from said predetermined positions outward of said shell in said paths during movement of the carrier from said operative to said inoperative position thereof.

UNITED References Cited by the Examiner STATES PATENTS Thorpe 95-66, Barker 95-66 Bornmann 95-66 Panosian 95 66 JOHN M. HORAN, Primary Examiner. I 

1. A HOLDER FOR PHOTOGRAPHIC PLATES AND LIKE PLATESHAPED MATERIAL COMPRISING, IN COMBINATION: (A) A SHELL HAVING A FLAT FACE AND AN OPEN SIDE; (B) A CARRIER MOUNTED IN SAID SHEEL FOR MOVEMENT THROUGH SAID OPEN SIDE IN A PLANE SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO SAID FLAT FACE BETWEEN AN OPERATIVE POSITION IN WHICH SAID CARRIER IS SUBSTANTIALLY CONTAINED WITHIN SAID SHELL AND AN INOPERATIVE POSITION OUTWARDLY SPACED FROM SAID OPERATIVE POSITION IN WHICH ONE PORTION OF SAID CARRIER PROJECTS FROM SAID SHELL WHILE ANOTHER PORTION OF SAID CARRIER IS RETAINED IN SAID SHELL, (1) SAID CARRIER AND SAID SHELL DEFINING A PATH FOR MOVEMENT OF SAID PLATE-SHAPED MATERIAL INTO AND OUTWARD OF SAID SHELL WHEN SAID CARRIED IS IN THE INOPERATIVE POSITION THEREOF; (C) RETAINING MEANS FOR PREVENTING OUTWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID CARRIER FROM SAID INOPERATIVE POSITION THEREOF (D) HINGE MEANS ON SAID ONE PORTION OF SAID CARRIER; 